DE102019208434A1 - Method and system for controlling a driving or vehicle function - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention describes a method for controlling at least one driving or vehicle function of a vehicle (1) by means of a current user input with the following steps: - Detecting (S1) a user (2) of a vehicle (1) by means of at least one first sensor (3) - Detecting (S2) a current user input by means of the first or at least one further sensor (3) of the vehicle (1); - Comparing (S3) the current user input with stored user inputs; - Activating (S4) a driving or vehicle function based on a match between a captured current user input and a stored user input.

Description

The invention relates to a method for controlling a driving or vehicle function and a system for carrying out the method.

It is known from the prior art that driving or vehicle functions such as opening the trunk or the request to change lanes in a level 3+ vehicle are controlled by activating a specific operating element. For example, by activating the indicator / touching the sensor for opening the trunk.

The problem with these controls is that they are fixed in the vehicle or can only be reconfigured to a very limited extent.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a method which improves the control of driving or vehicle functions.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of independent claims 1 and 6.

As the number of driving and vehicle functions increases, the need for appropriate sensors increases, which is associated with increasing complexity and costs.

In addition, it was established in initial considerations that situations are conceivable in which the driver, for example due to physical limitations, is not able to operate certain sensors.

• - Erfassen eines Nutzers eines Fahrzeugs mittels zumindest einem ersten Sensor;
• - Erfassen einer aktuellen Nutzereingabe mittels des ersten oder zumindest eines weiteren Sensors des Fahrzeugs;
• - Vergleichen der aktuellen Nutzereingabe mit gespeicherten Nutzereingaben;
• - Aktivieren einer Fahr- oder Fahrzeugfunktion basierend auf einer Übereinstimmung einer erfassten aktuellen Nutzereingabe mit einer gespeicherten Nutzereingabe.

According to the invention, a method for controlling at least one driving or vehicle function of a vehicle by means of a current user input with the following steps is therefore proposed:

• - Detecting a user of a vehicle by means of at least one first sensor;
• - Detecting a current user input by means of the first or at least one further sensor of the vehicle;
• - Comparing the current user input with stored user input;
• - Activation of a driving or vehicle function based on a match between a recorded current user input and a stored user input.

The first sensor and also the at least one further sensor can be, for example, a front camera, a camera of a surround view system, an interior camera, a radar or a lidar sensor. For example, a user of a vehicle can be detected by means of a front camera when he is moving towards the vehicle. He can then perform a user input in the form of a gesture, which is then either also captured by the front camera, depending on the position of the user, or when the user is outside the field of view of the front camera, for example by means of a camera of the surround view system. The user input can then be used, for example, to open the trunk.

The saved user inputs are trained and saved in the system individually by each user as part of a vehicle configuration. The gesture may have to be repeated a few times to ensure robust recognition.

Conceivable driving or vehicle functions would be: opening the doors, opening the trunk and especially for physically handicapped people: opening the doors and extending a ramp for a wheelchair. Activation of the indicator while driving, activation of the windscreen wipers or activation of the windscreen washer system is also conceivable.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, after the user has been recorded, the user is identified based on at least one predetermined identification criterion. An identification criterion can, for example, be facial recognition using a front or interior camera. It would also be conceivable to identify the user on the basis of the overall appearance, that is, body size, body posture, aids that are permanently carried along, such as a wheelchair, crutches or the like. In addition, the signal of the car key can be queried as a second criterion, for example, in order to clearly identify the user. A special user input that is stored as an identification criterion would also be conceivable.

Furthermore, after the user has been clearly identified, the stored user inputs assigned to the user are preferably made available for comparison with the current user input. This is particularly advantageous when several users use the same vehicle. This enables a faster comparison, since in this case only the respective user-specific inputs are compared and not the inputs of all users. This also helps to minimize incorrect identification of the user inputs, since with several users there is a potential for different users to define the same inputs for different functions.

In a further preferred embodiment, the user input is a specific gesture or a movement sequence. The movements are performed with the arms and / or hands. This is advantageous because a large number of different inputs can be implemented using gestures and movement sequences. The execution of movements in various geometric shapes such as circles, rectangles or triangles would be conceivable here. Successive multiple horizontal and / or vertical movements would also be conceivable.

It is important here that these inputs differ from movements that occur during normal use of the vehicle, e.g. during a steering process. Thus, for example, the input for an intention to change lanes, for example to activate the turn signal or for an autonomous lane change, must differ from normal steering activity. In order to guarantee this, the manufacturer could already specify a selection of excluded user inputs.

It would also be conceivable to allow voice commands as user input here. For the voice commands, it would be necessary to configure at least one of the sensors as a microphone that can pick up the inputs in and / or from outside the vehicle.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, a data representation when the user is recorded is a skeleton representation. The skeleton representation is advantageous because it allows, among other things, the movement of the arms to be clearly recorded. A further advantage of this representation is that it is low-dimensional and allows the discrimination of gestures.

Furthermore, according to the invention, a system for performing a method according to the invention is proposed, comprising a first sensor and at least one further sensor for detecting a user and a user input, an image processing unit, a memory unit for storing specific user inputs, a computing unit for comparing current and stored user inputs and a Control unit for controlling a corresponding driving or vehicle function.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the system, the computing unit is further designed to identify the user.

It is also preferred that at least one identification criterion for identifying a user is present in the memory unit.

• 1: eine schematische Darstellung eines Fahrzeugs bei der Erkennung eines Nutzers während der Nutzereingabe;
• 2: ein schematisches Ablaufdiagramm einer Ausführungsform der Erfindung.

Further advantageous configurations and embodiments emerge from the drawings. Show in it:

• 1 : a schematic representation of a vehicle when a user is recognized during user input;
• 2 : a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of the invention.

1 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle when a user is recognized during user input. In this representation, a vehicle is captured 1 by means of a sensor 3 a user 2 . The sensor 3 is in this illustration a front camera with a detection area E. and an opening angle α and records the user 2 outside the vehicle 1 . The user 2 has bent his arms upwards in this illustration. This can, for example, be a user input for the command to open the trunk lid 4th be.

2 shows a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of the invention. This is done in step S1 a user 2 of a vehicle 1 by means of a first sensor 3 detected. In step S2 will continue to be a user input by the user 2 by means of the first sensor 3 or another sensor. In step S3 the current, i.e. the recorded, user input is compared with the stored user input. In a final step S4 a driving or vehicle function is activated based on a match between a recorded current user input and a stored user input.

List of reference symbols

1

vehicle

2

Users

3

sensor

4th

Trunk lid

E.

Detection area

α

Opening angle

S1-S4

Procedural steps

Claims (8)

Method for controlling at least one driving or vehicle function of a vehicle (1) by means of a current user input with the following steps: - Detecting (S1) a user (2) of a vehicle (1) by means of at least one first sensor (3); - Detecting (S2) a current user input by means of the first or at least one further sensor (3) of the vehicle (1); - Comparing (S3) the current user input with stored user input; - Activation (S4) of a driving or vehicle function based on a match between a recorded current user input and a stored user input. Procedure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that after the user (2) has been recorded, the user (2) is identified based on at least one predetermined identification criterion. Procedure according to Claim 2 , characterized in that, after the user (2) has been clearly identified, the stored user inputs assigned to the user (2) are provided for comparison with the current user input. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the user input is a specific gesture or a sequence of movements. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a data representation when the user (2) is recorded is a skeleton representation. System for carrying out a method according to Claims 1 to 6th , comprising a first sensor (3) and at least one further sensor for detecting a user (2) and a user input, an image processing unit, a memory unit for storing specific user inputs, a computing unit for comparing current and stored user inputs and a control unit for controlling a corresponding one Driving or vehicle function. System according to Claim 6 , characterized in that the computing unit is further designed to carry out an identification of the user (2). System according to Claim 6 , characterized in that at least one identification criterion for identifying a user (2) is present in the memory unit.

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